For Home
by tarnath
Summary: When his unit becomes lost in the wilds of Ionia, a young Noxian lieutenant wants nothing more than to find a way back home. But will he survive the perils of the wilderness, the Ionian resistance, and his own hard-driving company commander to make his way back to the peaceful life he remembers? More characters to be added as the story goes. Game by Riot, I own nothing.
1. Chapter 1 - The Captain

**.**

"What do you mean, 'they're all dead'?" the young officer asked, looking up from the scattered paperwork on his desk.

"Exactly that, sir," replied the corporal standing before him. "Tangen's entire patrol. We found their bodies in the woods just over the border in Tevasa." The bedraggled soldier placed a handful of metal tags before his commander.

The loosened tent flap billowed in the stiff Ionian breeze as the officer searched through the collection of metal discs, holding each in turn up to the lantern. "I can't believe they're gone… I can't believe they're gone…" he muttered to himself until he found the tag he was looking for. "Marcus A. Tangen, Sergeant, Fury Company, XVI Legion of Noxus. They're really gone…"

"There wasn't enough of them left to bring back, otherwise you could see for yourself," the corporal explained. "We buried what remnants we found in a common grave, marked by a Noxian Cross."

"That's…for the best," the commander answered, his voice laced with disgust. He looked back to the metal tags. Most of them bore scorch marks, but few scratches. "What could have done this? Surely not fire arrows. Does the resistance use alchemy, perhaps?"

The corporal shrugged. "I'm not the one at the company intelligence briefings, sir. I just know that all the bodies were covered in burn marks when we found them. The locals had already scavenged their weapons and all the other metal they could find, apart from those identifiers."

With a sigh, the commander dropped Tangen's name tag into the pile with the others. "Seven men… I've lost a quarter of my section," he realized, running a hand through his dark, messy hair as he began to understand the full implications of the disaster. "The captain's going to be outraged by this. I don't suppose you've told her yet?" he asked hopefully.

"No sir," the corporal answered, frowning. "That's not how the chain of command works. Reporting the status of _your_ section to the captain is _your_ job."

"I could order you to bring a message for me…"

"Sir, I've known the captain a long time," the corporal said. "She won't appreciate that. This is something you need to report yourself."

The commander glanced wistfully out the open tent flap. He could see speckles of moonlight caught in the night dew that had settled over their encampment. "Fine," he said. "I'll tell her. But not until morning. I need to figure out what to do about this."

"Very well, sir. What orders for your men tonight?"

The commander looked at the man thoughtfully for a moment. "You're taking this very well, Gurth. I've only known this section a few weeks, but you served with Tangen and the others in the last Freljord expedition, didn't you? You're not fazed by this?"

"This is just war sir. Only the strong are destined to prevail," Corporal Gurth replied, as though that explained everything that went on in his world. "And your orders?" he added with some impatience.

"Right. Well, we could…" the lieutenant paused to consider his options.

"Double the watch in the forward outposts," the corporal suggested quickly. "And coordinate with Tunley's section to operate sweeping patrols along our picket line."

"…Yeah, that sounds good. Go do that."

The corporal saluted stiffly, then left without waiting for the acknowledgement.

With another sigh, the lieutenant glanced at his timepiece. It was well past midnight, and yet he still had no idea how he could account for this tragedy to the captain. Back home, it was second nature for ambitious politicians to slant reports for the local nobles to best fit their agenda. But how could he wake his captain and put a positive spin on the deaths of seven men? He did not see how.

The commander considered making a personal inspection of his men and their positions along the front line to see how they were taking the news, but decided against it. Gurth seemed to have everything under control in their section – he always did.

After ensuring that his armor and equipment was ready for the next day's march, the lieutenant laid back on his cot to sleep. Thinking back to the dead patrol and their metal tags sitting on his desk, he pulled out his own tag and read it over for the thousandth time. "John R. Talath, Lieutenant, Fury Company, XVI Legion of Noxus." He flipped over the tag and kept reading. "Home alive, I pray." The last line he had etched on during the voyage to Ionia. With thoughts of his sunny home town along the Noxian shore filling his mind, John drifted off to a peaceful slumber.

* * *

The lieutenant awoke with a start the next morning. Sunlight streamed in through the tent flap. He stared for a moment through the gap at the distant mountains bathed in the morning glow, then glanced at his timepiece. It was well past morning rollcall.

"Dammit," he cursed as he frantically donned his armor. Grabbing his sword and the collection of metal tags, the lieutenant rushed outside to the assembly ground to find the company arrayed in marching formation. The men of Fury Company looked stiff and tired, as though they had been in position all morning. More than a few glared at him as he made his way to his section – or what was left of it.

"Good morning sir," said Corporal Gurth without a hint of mockery as John approached. "I've secured a few more crossbows for us to replace the ones Tangen lost."

"That's…that's great, corporal," John said, glancing around the formation. The entire company was arranged in marching order. The rest of the camp had been disassembled, apart from his tent. "What's going on, corporal? Why didn't you wake me?"

A voice spoke up behind him. "I wanted to see if Section Four really needed its lieutenant. It would appear that it does not."

John turned and quickly snapped to attention at the sight of his commanding officer. "C-Captain Riven!" he exclaimed, saluting.

The white-haired woman did not return the salute. "Lieutenant, how many soldiers are supposed to be in Section Four?" Riven asked calmly, her hand resting on the hilt of her broad, black sword.

"Twenty-eight, ma'am," John replied, glancing nervously at Corporal Gurth.

The corporal stood as fixed as a statue, offering no support to his commander.

"That is correct, lieutenant," Riven went on. "And how many soldiers are there currently in Section Four?"

"Twenty-one."

In a flash, Riven unsheathed her sword and lunged at the startled lieutenant.

He recoiled a step, instinctively bringing his arms up to his face. It was all John could do to suppress a shriek as the sword stopped a hair's width from his nose.

"That is incorrect, lieutenant," Riven said coolly. "Section Four currently has twenty brave soldiers who are ready and able to demonstrate the true strength of the Noxian Empire, and one sniveling politician from a rich family who somehow found his way into an officer's uniform so he can proudly wear a Valor pin for the rest of the life. That is the true status of Section Four, lieutenant."

"Y-yes ma'am," John stammered.

"I'm glad we agree," Riven said, breaking into a smile as she rested the massive sword over her shoulder guard, but she quickly dropped the façade. "Why did you not report this immediately last night?" she demanded. "I should not be receiving news like this from your corporal!"

John could feel the anger in her red eyes as they bored into him. "Ma'am, I… needed time to assess and…then…plan…" he trailed off as Riven turned her back on him and walked away down the line of soldiers.

"Fury Company!" Riven called. The entire formation snapped to attention. "What is our creed?"

"Only the strong survive!" the company's thunderous reply echoed through the valley.

" _Only_ the strong survive!" Riven repeated as she walked along the line of soldiers. "Our strength has brought our empire victory after victory, from the Demacian border to the shores of Ionia!" Then she stopped and pointed her sword at the hapless lieutenant. "Weakness is a cancer. A single weak link can destroy a chain, can destroy an army, can destroy a nation. And I will tolerate no weak links in Fury Company!"

John's face reddened as the formation cheered again, Section Four loudest of all.

"But sometimes," Riven went on once the cheering diminished, "we have no choice. Those with political connections use their influence to thrust weakness into our midst. So we must make the best of our situation." The captain stopped directly in front of John. Though she stood a head shorter than the lieutenant, Riven seemed to tower over him as she spoke to the company. "You all know we have a weak link among us. Yet still, a central tenant of Noxian virtue is that _everyone_ has the opportunity to prove their strength. _Everyone!_ Even you," she finished, pointing her sword again at John.

"Y-yes, ma'am," John gulped. He knew everything she said was true, from his political connections back home to his weakness. John knew he was not a strong leader, and certainly not cut out to be a soldier in the army of Noxus. But service was the only sure way to get ahead in the Empire, so he had reluctantly accepted a commission from one of his uncles. Then the Ionia War started.

Captain Riven had summoned one of the other section leaders. "Lieutenant Gallic, you will lead the rest of Fury Company on towards Coeur. I will rejoin you in a week."

Gallic saluted without a word and left. When he reached the head of the company, he gave the signal to move out.

John watched as the rest of Fury Company, apart from Section Four and the captain, made their way to the nearby road. Since joining the company a few weeks ago, John had quickly come to expect some kind of fallout once his weakness became apparent. But not so severe as this. He adhered to the Noxian ideals as much as the next man, and had great respect for Captain Riven for her dedication to the creed. Yet, John knew that he could never make it anywhere in Noxus on his own, let alone in Ionia. If Tangen's veteran squad had been butchered so easily, what chance did John have to survive?

When the other sections were out of sight, Riven turned to John. "You will have one more chance to prove you are strong enough to be a soldier in my company, lieutenant. You will lead Section Four into Tevasa to find out what happened to your men. If you can find and punish those responsible, you may remain with Fury Company. If not…" Riven stepped closer until her face was just inches from John's. "…then political consequences be damned, I _will_ send you back home. Do you understand?"

The lieutenant nodded. "Yes, ma'am," he replied, glancing back to his section. He saw now that they were equipped for a long-range expedition with every man carrying additional weapons and equipment. Then he noticed that the captain was similarly prepared. "Will you be joining us?" he asked.

"Of course!" Riven exclaimed with a predatory smile. "I need to see how weak the link in my company has become. And decide if it should be fixed…or removed."


	2. Chapter 2 - The Forest

**.**

"We're not lost."

"…Of course not, sir," replied the corporal.

John looked up from his map and found himself in a familiar clearing in the woods; it was at least the third time Section Four had passed through it since leaving camp that morning. Once Gurth had marked the location of the massacre site on his map, John insisted on leading the section there himself. He assumed it would be part of the way Riven would assess his abilities during the venture.

"How hard can it be to walk in a straight line?" the lieutenant muttered to himself as he checked the compass again. Then he pointed in a new direction out from the meadow. "We need to go that way," he declared with the same confidence as the last time they left the clearing.

As before, two scouts hurried off in the new direction, followed minutes later by the rest of the section.

Captain Riven lingered at the very end. John was careful to avoid her gaze. She had not said a word since leaving the encampment that morning, seemingly content to let the young lieutenant bumble his way through the Ionian wilderness. Occasionally she checked her own compass and map, but never shared her findings with the rest of the section.

They walked for nearly an hour, up and down the slope of the valley. John glanced at his compass from time to time, altering their course along the way. He was thankful that the trees shielded them from the worst of the cold winds coming down from the mountains, yet he still felt a chill. Perhaps it was from Riven's penetrating glare as he struggled with the basic navigations, yet he still felt as though someone else – or something else – was watching them from the forest.

"Is any of this looking familiar to you, corporal?" the lieutenant asked, glancing nervously at the dark forests around them. It was well past midday. What little sunlight made its way through the dense treetops was casting longer and longer shadows on the ground.

Gurth looked around with a shrug. "One tree is the same as another out here, sir. I was more concerned with getting back to the company last night than with cartographical notations or landmarks."

"The area where you found Tengen and his men; what was it like?" asked the lieutenant as they continued through the forest.

"Some rocky outcroppings, a stream not too far away, and the forest as dense as ever around us. No real path leading there to speak of," Gurth replied after a moment's thought.

One of the scouts returned and reported that there was another clearing ahead.

John's heart sank as he led the section into the clearing. Even in the failing light, he could tell that it was the same meadow they had passed through numerous times during the day. "We're not lost," he muttered to himself. "We just can't find our way."

Overhead, the sky was turning from brilliant blue to the soft yellows and pinks of sunset. The forest around them seemed darker than ever as it came alive with the sounds of nocturnal creatures stirring from their slumber.

The lieutenant looked around the clearing. His section, and Captain Riven, all looked at him expectantly, waiting for his decision. With a sigh, he gave his orders. "Ok, everyone. We'll camp here tonight, then find the gravesite in the morning. Squad one, set up camp. Squad two, sweeping patrol around the clearing. I want to know if there's anything to worry about within one mile distance. And I want the scouts out further than that."

As the soldiers went about their work, John approached the captain. "Well ma'am, we're getting closer," he said with a weak smile.

"No we're not," Riven replied, not looking up as she continued to make notes on her map. "While I admire your willingness to jump into the situation, you failed to take advantage of people who had been over this ground before. _This_ is the result." She held up the map.

Riven had been marking their path throughout the day in red pen. From the campsite that morning, John had led them in no less than four loops up and down the same side of the small mountain, passing through the meadow every time.

He studied the map, shaking his head as he realized that not once had they been close to the massacre site. Wilderness tracking had never been a strong-suit of his, but with his experience as a city planner's apprentice back in his provincial town, John thought he could simply follow the map to their destination.

"You're failing this test, John."

The lieutenant looked up in surprise. This was the first time Riven had used his first name.

"Listen, I don't expect for you personally to find the gravesite," she went on. "Only to see that it is found. You have twenty men under your command. If you provide the leadership, they will provide the results." Riven placed a hand on his shoulder, then walked off towards the edge of the clearing.

John studied the map Riven had left with him. He thought back to what Gurth had said about a stream running by the gravesite. There was no stream marked on the map, but the way the valley was sloped near this small farmstead… He looked up from the map as Corporal Gurth approached.

"You must really like this meadow, sir," Gurth said with a wry grin. "I was satisfied after the second visit, to be honest."

"Shut up, corporal," John said with a friendly smile. "Did the scouts find anything for us to worry about?"

"No sir. Just some smoke columns from a settlement up the valley, the one Tangen was heading to. We're still waiting for Scout Nisus to report back, but it's looking like we'll be secure for-" The corporal was interrupted by a commotion across the clearing.

Looking across the meadow, John saw Nisus escorting a young, emaciated Ionian boy, not more than ten years old, into the camp. The boy's eyes were wide with fear as the Noxian scout led him to the lieutenant.

"A spy?" John asked.

Nisus shook his head. "Worst spy ever if he is. I found him wandering the woods, looking as lost and terrified as he does now. But he was carrying this…" The scout handed John a short dagger. The hilt bore the familiar symbol of the Noxus XVI Legion.

"One of Tangen's daggers. Where did you get this, kid?" John asked the Ionian, holding the weapon up to his face.

"D-demon!" the boy shrieked. "It was a demon!"

"That's all I could get from him too," said Nisus. "Can't get a name, a home, or an explanation of how he got one of our daggers. He just keeps going on about some demon."

"Where did you find him?"

"Up the valley a ways, closer to the farmstead."

The boy began to howl again. "The demon! The demon!" Much of the section was now gathered around to watch. More than a few of the soldiers cringed at the yells.

John felt unnerved with every scream from the child.

"We could take him to that farmhouse or village," Gurth suggested when the Ionian had calmed down. "Maybe they can give us some information, and if not, they can at least take the kid off our hands."

The sun had just set. They were far enough north that the twilight would linger for some time yet, though the forest floor was already shrouded in darkness. "It's getting late. We can investigate the farmstead in the morning," John decided, glancing reassuringly at the campfire nearby.

"You really want to keep him locked up in camp all night, sir?" asked Gurth. "That shrieking will get old pretty fast. I might even start believing in demons myself if it lasts all night."

"Well, it's too late to-" John began to reply.

"No it isn't," Riven interrupted as she joined the group seemingly from nowhere. "Scout Nisus, can you locate the place where you found this kid? Or at least the farmhouse? How far away is it?"

"I can find it. No more than an hour away."

The captain turned to John. "What are you waiting for?"

"Um, morning. Ma'am, it's too dark to-"

"Lieutenant, are you afraid of the dark?"

John felt his face grow red. "Yes…" he muttered, looking down. More than ever, he wished he was back home in his village by the sea.

Corporal Gurth smiled, but stifled his laugh when Riven glared at him.

"Do you know who else is afraid of the dark, lieutenant?" Riven asked.

John shook his head.

"General Darius," the captain said with a smile.

The entire section stood in stunned silence for a moment.

"T-the general is afraid of the dark?" John asked presently. "How do you know?"

"I served in his legion in the Noxus capital garrison," Riven explained. "He always carried his own torchlight during night exercises. Now, why is Darius our general?"

"Because he's the strongest?"

"Right. And that's relevant because…?" Riven motioned with her hand, forcing John to continue.

"He's stronger than his fears!" John realized.

"And so the student learns," Riven said happily. "No one is fearless, but the strong do not let their fears control them. Now lieutenant, are you stronger than your fears?"

John looked off into the dark forest, then back to his fiery-eyed captain. "Yes!"


	3. Chapter 3 - The Demon

.

"D-demon! Demon!" the terrified child shrieked as Section Four tramped through the forest, searching for the Ionian village.

His cries had everyone on edge. John tightened his grip on his lantern as he peered off into the darkness. Tangen's dagger was proof that the child was somehow tied to the slaughter of the Noxian patrol, but they would need help from the locals to determine how.

"Demon!"

"Damn kid's going to wake up half of Runeterra with that yelling…" grumbled Gurth.

"And your complaints will wake the other half," Riven replied as she held up her lantern, scanning the woods around them. "Focus on the mission, corporal."

"Yes ma'am."

John smiled as he watched their exchange. Gurth and Riven had known each other since the last Freljord Expedition. Though he was tired, terrified, cold, and far from home, one look at the comradery shared by the rest of Fury Company was enough to make John imagine that he might someday share that friendship, and get through his contract time alive.

The lieutenant was snapped from his moment of hope by a shrill scream from behind. He whirled around in time to see a flash of bright blue light tear through one of the soldiers of the rearguard. Several of the men around him quickly brought their crossbows to bear and looked to him for the order to fire. John looked at Riven, at a loss for words as more shots of blue zipped from the darkness and cut down another Noxian.

The captain had her sword drawn, but otherwise seemed unfazed by the chaos swirling around her. "John, unless you want all of your men to die tonight, you _need_ to give them orders," she said calmly. "Do you want to see your home again?"

John nodded as he frantically thought back to the basic tactics he'd been taught in the provincial officer school, then called to Gurth, who had his own crossbow ready to fire. "Corporal! Take your squad into the woods to the left and work your way behind the attackers. Signal when you're ready. Then the captain and I will hit them from the front. They'll be trapped between us. Go!"

Gurth nodded, seemingly content with the plan, then headed into the woods with his squad behind him.

The lieutenant ordered the crossbowmen to open fire. A dozen quarrels tore through the night air into the woods behind them. As if in reply, more shots of blue energy hurled back towards Section Four.

John dove to the ground as one nearly clipped his shoulder. The man next to him was not so lucky. The orb burned away part of the clothes on his chest and caused the segments of plate armor on his front to glow red-hot for a moment, like newly forged steel. John could smell the seared flesh below. Almost without thinking, he dragged the screaming man into the undergrowth beside the trail. A shriek from further away told him that another man had been hit. And yet, above it all, John thought he heard a laugh, playful and teasing…

"The demon! The demon's back!" cried the Ionian child, cowering in a bush nearby.

"Clearly," John muttered as he took cover behind a large rock with several other soldiers. "At least we know what happened to Tangen…" He noticed Riven some distance away behind a large tree trunk, watching him.

John peered around the boulder to look for Gurth's confirmation signal. As he watched, the strange attacks of blue energy ceased and an eerie calm descended on the forest. In the dim lantern light, he could discern three or four bodies sprawled on the path. Then a red flare shot towards the sky from the woods beyond.

"There's the signal! Everyone, charge!" he ordered.

No one moved.

Glancing left and right, John saw nearly a dozen soldiers, swords and crossbows at the ready, looking at him expectantly. "Are you guys for real?" he cried in amazement. "I ordered you to- Oh."

Then it hit him. John sighed, clipped his lantern to his belt, leapt over the boulder and charged towards the unseen enemy, all fear of death driven from his mind by the expectations of those he was meant to lead. A sudden clatter told him the rest of the soldiers were following his example. The lieutenant signaled his men to fan out along either side of the path as they made their way towards Gurth's squad, hoping to trap their adversaries in between.

Riven caught up with John along the path. "It's not your job to give orders, lieutenant. It's your job to _lead_! Men respond to courage, not commands."

The lieutenant nodded as the squad continued to advance.

As they passed the trio of dead and wounded Noxian soldiers, John was nearly sick at the sight of their burned bodies and twisted limbs. This was war, he realized. This was men struggling to kill each other, and to kill him. One misstep, one wrong sword thrust or failed parry, and he would never return to his village by the sea. John felt as though his legs would buckle in shock at any moment.

"You still with us, lieutenant?"

The words echoed in his mind for a moment before he realized that Riven was speaking to him, a steady hand placed on his shoulder, the lantern light dancing in her red eyes.

"Y-yeah," he stammered. "This is just… so much."

The captain nodded in understanding. "It's never easy your first time. But stay focused. Your men are depending on you."

She was right. John couldn't let this fear hold him back. He looked around at the men of Section Four. They needed him, just as much as he needed them if he wanted to survive his contract term.

As they went, the lieutenant sent a couple men to see to the dead and wounded while the rest met with Gurth's soldiers coming from the other direction. He cursed in frustration – there was no sign of the attackers they had tried to trap. And yet John was relieved, too. The immediate danger seemed to have passed. He had survived his first battle.

Three soldiers from his section were not so lucky. A forth soldier – the first to be hit in the attack – had suffered terrible burns to his arms and back, but could still walk.

John ordered Gurth's squad to secure their surroundings while he spoke with the wounded soldier to learn something of their attackers. Riven looked on intently.

"It was only one man, sir," said the private, a young volunteer from Noxus Prime named Lycus.

"How?" asked John.

"It was fast. I saw the way the attacks flew from only one place at a time. But whatever it was, it was fast. Like a…demon."

"Demon?" John asked, frowning.

The wounded private smiled. "I don't believe in them either, sir. But I imagine that's how one would attack." Lycus glanced towards the young Ionian, who had been quiet since the attack ended. "I can understand where he gets it from, at least."

"Was it an Ionian? What kind of weapon could do this?"

The wounded Noxian tried to shake his head, but winced at the pain. "It didn't seem human, sir. The way it moved…"

"You saw it then?"

"No, I didn't see much, sir. Maybe a flash of red as it darted through the trees, but nothing more. Except...a sound."

"Laughter?" John guessed.

Lycus gave a weak smile. "So you heard it, too?"

John nodded.

"It was a happy, almost singing laugh," the private went on. "It was like an enchantment. I was at the very end of the rearguard. Before the attack, I heard – felt – this voice in my mind. It was telling me to stop, to turn around, to keep this a secret from everyone else. And I did! I couldn't bring myself to raise the alarm… When I finally regained control, I was laying on the ground with my arm nearly burned off."

John gave a reassuring pat on the man's good shoulder before he and Riven stepped back so the medic could apply another bandage.

Like any small town in Valoran, John's village was rife with tales of the dark, mysterious creatures that lurked beyond the bounds of human settlement. Growing up, he had always dismissed those stories as old myths or legends. But now, with ten of his soldiers killed in just two days, and barely even a sight of the attacker, he began to wonder.

"Something unnatural killed Tangen's men," John said wearily. "And it's still out there…"

"I've seen stranger things in Runeterra, lieutenant," the captain replied with a shrug. "I've _killed_ stranger things. Remember the dagger? Even if it was a demon, the Ionians are somehow involved in this."

"Still…. Maybe we should return to the rest of the company," John mused. "At least call for reinforcements. This is so far beyond what one decimated section can do…"

Riven crosser her arms and said nothing for several moments. "So you're giving in to despair, then? You accept that this _thing_ is stronger than you and your men, lieutenant?"

"But what choice do we have?"

"Look around, John. You still have plenty of options. Comb the forest. Interrogate the locals. Set your own ambush. You've been hurt, but you're not beaten. Unless you let yourself be."

As she spoke, John peered around at the survivors of Section Four. He watched two men help Lycus back to his feet. The private was already holding his sword again. Other soldiers were reloading their crossbows, while still more patrolled along the edge of the trail, watching the darkness for any signs of another assault. Gurth and Nisus were conferring around a lantern about the best way to reach the village.

"These men are still ready to fight, lieutenant," Riven continued. "Can you still lead them?"

As much as he wanted to quit, he couldn't let these people down. "Yes," he answered with renewed confidence. "I'll find this demon, captain. Noxus isn't finished yet."


End file.
